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Central Europe receives $1.4b of commercial investment in Q1

by Andrea Waitrovich

There is a major trend in Europe of capital moving east from the United Kingdom, France and Germany to Central Europe. According to Cushman & Wakefield, first quarter 2015 investment activity in the core Central European markets of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia was €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion). This is almost identical to the transaction volume in the corresponding period of 2014. Cushman & Wakefield expects the 2015 investment volumes to reach €7.5 billion ($7.9 billion).

The Czech Republic had a strong first quarter performance with €800 million ($847 million) invested (a 228 percent increase year-on-year), primarily in the retail and industrial sectors. The Czech Republic recorded its largest property transaction — Union Investment’s acquisition of a majority share in the Palladium shopping center in Prague for approximately €570 million ($604 million). The investment volume in Hungary was €44 m